


tell me what you want to hear

by silverstaineddreams



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, Soulmate AU, jesus this is so bad, literally stop me, this was supposed to be max 1k and now its like 9k i cant believe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 15:19:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6120712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverstaineddreams/pseuds/silverstaineddreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Nathan Hale schemes, Robert Townsend wishes that they'd all leave him alone, and Caleb Brewster has got it bad for his 'platonic' soulmate.</p>
<p>So, business as usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tell me what you want to hear

**Author's Note:**

> okay few things  
> \- yale is not anywhere near setauket, last time i checked, but just bear with me  
> \- i actually have no idea about anything surrounding those little things that people put in their ears in order to hear others, during spy movies, so i called them earbuds a lot because i forgot google was thing  
> \- this is the kind of soulmate au in which you don't see color until you touch your soulmate, and i think it's pretty self explanatory, but im not good at explaining things so just a head's up

The night was unusually dark for their town; there wasn’t a star in the sky, and the moon was obstructed by several clouds. To add to the scene, tiny droplets of water had begun to fall, almost as delicate as the pristine white snowflakes that danced around them, during the winter. 

But, this was no winter night, and Caleb was all too aware of the almost unnoticeable strength that the downpour was gaining. 

He ducked in the Strong tavern, the dim lights not playing a very different scenario than what was happening outside. He paused, eyes scanning the crowd, before landing on who he’d been looking for. 

Caleb didn’t feel the grin spread onto his face, too busy maneuvering himself through the drunkards that haunted the pub, but it was present. _Poor Annie_ , he mused, looking around the crowded room, before situating himself in the empty seat next to Ben. 

“Have you been here all day?” He asked, looking between his friend and the plethora of papers surrounding him. “When’s the last time you ate something?” 

Ben turned to him, eyes lighting up the minute he saw Caleb, and the man can’t help but feel the tiniest twinge of happiness at that. Ben smiled, and his shoulders relaxed, looking up at his best friend, and Caleb felt the overwhelming sense of being lost. 

_Blue._

 _Bluer than the ocean, bluer than the sky. Maybe that’s why the night is so black, so monotone, tonight; is all the cerulean in your eyes?_

Caleb shook the thought with a simple blink, swallowing heavily. 

“I haven’t been here all that long,” Ben assured him, and Caleb snorted in disbelief. “And I’m in a tavern, Caleb, I’ve had plenty to eat.” 

He folded his arms, watching as Ben gave his homework a distasteful glance. 

“‘Eat’ does not mean throw back some shots as you power through college courses, Tallboy.” 

“Nathan brought me a sandwich.” Ben refuted, and Caleb clapped his hands together. 

“Wow. A whole sandwich. Nathan Hale, resident life saver.” He stated, and Ben reached forward to shove him, playfully, the touch shooting electricity down Caleb’s arms. 

“I’m almost done, anyways.” 

“Whatever happened to doing homework the traditional way, like in a library, or something?” Caleb demanded, and Ben shot him a bemused look. 

“Since when have you ever been a fan of doing things the traditional way?” He countered, and Caleb had to admit that the man had a point. 

Ben, focused once again on his assignments, didn’t seem to notice how strange everything seemed today. Which was odd, because today felt very different than yesterday, but nobody seemed to think so. 

Maybe it was Caleb that had been altered, sometime between last night and right now, but he didn't feel any change in himself at all. Everything else was just off. Even more so, now. 

With Ben, he felt acutely aware of how different everything was, today. How sweaty his palms were, how strange his gut felt, almost as if- 

_No. Oh, no._

Caleb’s eyebrows shot up, and the hand that had been reaching forwards to take a swig of Ben’s drink froze in the air, before he recoiled it, hastily. 

Ben didn’t seem to sense his companion’s internal panic, seeing as how he merely continue writing his essay. 

Caleb stood up abruptly, and this Ben did notice. He looked up, concern flooding his features. 

“Hey, you okay?” He asked, placing his pen down, and making a move to stand up, as well- Caleb held out his hands, the universal gesture for don’t. He didn’t need to worry Ben. 

“Yeah, fine.” He lied, through clenched teeth. “I think I left the stove on back at the apartment, though, and Abe doesn’t really know how to do anything. He might burn himself- or, more importantly, my house.” 

“I thought the apartment belonged to both roommates.” Ben said, and Caleb was relieved to see the worry replaced with that easy grin. 

“Well, when one of the aforementioned roommates is Abraham Woodhull, then that law is vetoed by whoever has to stay with him.” Caleb answered, dryly, and Ben chuckled. 

“Isn’t it raining, though?” He twisted to look out the window. “You’ll catch a cold.” 

“Don’t worry about me,” Caleb waved him off, “you finish that goddamn essay.” 

Ben gave him an odd look, and Caleb got the impression that he wanted to say something. The college student, however, merely settled on a warm smile as his farewell. It was rather anticlimactic, in Caleb’s opinion, but he had more nerve-wracking things to worry about. 

He gave Anna a salute, on his way out, and braced himself for the rain that had, somehow, grown much stronger in the five minutes that he’d been in the bar. 

Holding his hands over his head, and making sure to stick close to the small roofs on the outside edges of the houses, Caleb tried to keep his mind off the realization he had come to. The realization that he had been putting off. 

Sighing heavily, he kicked a pebble, and stepped menacingly in a puddle. 

“Excuse me?” 

Caleb turned on his heels, alert. A woman stood before him, vaguely familiar, with dark skin and kind, yet fiery eyes. 

“Abby,” he stated, once he was able to match a name to the face; Abigail was one of the waitresses in the Strong tavern. Caleb didn’t know her all that well, but they’d engaged in small talk before. 

“Yeah,” she nodded, before holding out a sweater. He frowned. 

“It’s not mine.” 

“Someone from the bar said to give it to you.” Abby insisted, holding it out, rather impatiently. He couldn’t blame her, the roofs weren’t doing much to keep the rain out. “The one with the dark shirt.” 

Caleb recognized the sweater as Ben’s, and his lips quirked upwards. 

“Right, I know who it’s from. I don’t think he was wearing a dark shirt.” Caleb looked back up at Abigail, who had her arms folded, defensively. “What color was it?” 

“I wouldn’t know.” She pursed her lips, and Caleb was lost momentarily, before he noticed how dull her eyes were, how they didn’t really seem to take in much. He winced, chiding himself. 

“Right, sorry.” He apologized, gruffly. Abby chewed on the inside of her cheek, before letting her hands fall down her sides. 

“It’s fine.” She assured him, already making a move to head back to the tavern. “Stay safe from the weather.” 

As he pulled the sweater over his shoulders, Caleb mentally added Abigail to the list of people who quite possibly resented him; the problem with having found your soulmate at the age of six, was that not many people had the same luxury. 

For Caleb, the world had burst into a collage of color the minute he’d met Ben. Others? Their lives were shrouded in shades of grays, indefinitely. 

Sometimes, he told himself that he ought to remember how lucky he was. His parents often did. 

“ _How great, to have found a best friend for the rest of your life,_ ” they often told him, proud smiles shining on their faces. Caleb had always hated that phrase: there was something about referring to a soulmate as a friend, that felt inherently wrong. 

Although, according to his father, platonic soulmates were a thing. And so that’s what had been decided. That’s what him and Ben were. Platonic. 

Caleb wasn’t so keen on the idea as he had been, back when he was a child, but he shoved it down, deep where it would never be voiced. 

There were two kinds of secrets; there were the secrets that were meant to be shared, the ones that were made to be discussed in hushed tones. 

And then, there were the secrets that you kept from not only the world, but from yourself, too. 

Caleb’s secret was Benjamin Tallmadge. 

And his subconscious had just caught on. 

\+ 

“Caleb! Thank god you’re back.” Abe exclaimed, the minute he walked in. Caleb gave him a wary look, eyeing the bruise that was forming on his left cheek. He sighed, pulling off Ben’s sweater.

“What did you do?” 

Abe opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, repeating this action several times, before slumping down.

“I got into a fight.” He said, and Caleb was astounded at how many times he had heard that same statement come out of his roommate’s mouth. 

“With Simcoe?” Caleb asked, having war flashbacks to that time he and Abe had to hide out from their neighbor for three months.

Abe bit his lip.

“No, not Simcoe. Well, not exactly.” He answered, and hesitated. “It doesn’t matter _who_ I got into a fight with, okay? I just need someone to help me out with the first aid kit.”

Caleb raised his eyebrow, intrigued, thousands of questions at the ready. 

“Date gone wrong?” He teased. Abe stiffened, forced out a laugh, and shoved Caleb towards the room in which they kept their, fairly limited, supplies.

“Drop it.”

Caleb rolled his eyes, before grabbing the kit and making his way back to the living room. Abe trailed behind him, head swiveling around the room.

“Stop moving your head like that, you idiot,” Caleb chided, “You’ve already got a shiner, you don’t need a broken neck, as well.”

Abe fixed his pale eyes on Caleb, narrowing them, almost as though he were inspecting the other man, seeing him for the first time.

Caleb chalked it all up to just Abe being Abe, and decided to leave it at that, something that he was sure his roommate appreciated.

People were entitled to their secrets, after all.

+

It wasn’t that Caleb expected some huge, obvious change to take place in his life, after realizing that he was in love with his best friend. It was just that everything was the _same._

He didn’t understand why that made him so upset. It wasn’t like he was particularly unhappy with his life. 

And, maybe, the reason that nothing too drastic had happened, was because he had been aware of his feelings, all along. But, now, he was hyper-aware of it all; every touch, every lingering glance: the hope that it gave him was fleeting, but had been present long before he truly knew what it represented.

“Brewster,” Nathan snapped a finger in front of Caleb’s face, plucking him from his reverie. “You in?”

Caleb spared a look at Ben, who was smiling wildly, eyes glimmering with excitement.

“Hell yes.” _Anything to keep that look on your face._

“Nice!” Nathan clapped his hands together, shooting off into a tangent of what their plan- whatever that was- required.

“You’re going to get yourselves expelled.” Anna warned, but her smirk told the room that she definitely planned on joining them all. 

“It’s no fun without a little danger.” Ben pointed out, scooting closer to Caleb. 

“Here, here.” They clinked their beers together, grinning. There was something youthful about the feel of the room, something that Caleb wanted to hold on to, for as long as he could.

“Alright, so André’s visit is _tomorrow_.” Anna nearly choked on her drink, in response. Nathan shot them apologetic looks. “I know, not a lot of time, but we’ll figure it out.”

“ _Who’s_ visiting?” Caleb asked, and Ben chuckled, knowingly.

“John André.” He answered. “He’s visiting Yale, and Nathan’s got beef with him.”

“ _We’ve_ got beef with him.” Nathan corrected. “He wants to fire Washington.”

“ _We heard_ he wants to fire Washington.” Ben reminded him, but Caleb could tell by the sharpness of his posture, that the mere idea of George Washington not being his teacher enraged him.

“Right, that,” Nathan nodded, “so, we need to find out if it’s happening, or not.”

“Or, we could mind our own business, and let what’s meant to happen, happen.” Anna suggested. They all ignored her.

“It’s a simple plan; one of us gets close enough to the room where André and those other pretentious fucks are staying.” Nathan explained, and Caleb snorted.

“Oh, yeah, easy.” He replied, sarcastically. “Tell me, Hale, how exactly are we supposed to get into Yale, after hours?”

“Leave that to me.” Ben said, and all eyes turned to him, surprisedly. “Sometimes I stay there, studying in the library. The lady by the door? She’ll let us in, if it’s not too late. We’ll just say we’re a study group.”

They sat in stunned silence, for a moment, before Nathan’s smirk grew. 

“Ben’s got a way in, I’ve got the plan. Anyone else?” He looked hopefully at Caleb and Anna, who, in turn, looked at each other.

“I’m just going for entertainment.” Anna stated, holding her hands up. “Don’t ask me.”

Caleb shot her a withering look.

“Well, we need a way to hear what they’re saying, right? So, like, one of those earbud-thingies?” He mused, rubbing his stubbly chin, thoughtfully. “I have one of those.”

Ben’s eyebrows shot up.

“Why would you possibly have that?” He asked, the words laced with a melodious laugh that made Caleb weak.

“Abe’s confrontational ass likes to piss off at least one of our neighbors weekly, and we once had to use those for a whole day to communicate with each other, in order to make sure there wasn’t an angry mob waiting for us.” Caleb responded, tiredly.

Ben chuckled, before pausing and looking around.

“Where _is_ Abe?” He asked, and it was only then that Caleb noticed that his roommate wasn’t present.

“If he comes back with another black eye, I swear to god..” Caleb trailed off, rubbing his temples; he considered himself a wild ride, but with Abe it was like taking care of a five year old.

“No, he’s fine.” Anna assured them. 

“What’s he up to?”

The brunette took a swig of beer, keeping her eyes trained on Caleb.

“It isn’t my place to tell another person’s secrets.” 

There was something about the way she said this, and how she looked at him so intently. For a moment, Caleb forgot that they’d been talking about Abe, and his eyes flitted over to Ben- who was already looking at him.

They stared at each other, the air thick with everything that had ever been unsaid.

Nathan coughed, awkwardly, standing up and taking a legal pad from one of the drawers. Pulling out a pen, he began to jot down all that they had come up with. 

Caleb forced himself to look away, opting instead to peer over Nathan’s shoulder.

“So, that’s a yes for the mics and earbuds?” He asked, and the other man nodded, vigorously.

“We can reconvene here at around seven-ish.” Ben chimed in.

“And from there we’ll go to Yale.” Anna finished. “Caleb, you can bring Abe, if he decides to tag along.”

Nathan gripped the edges of the counter, having set the legal pad down. Ben twisted it around, inspecting it, carefully.

“One of us needs to go in, and the rest can hang back, checking the cameras. Anna, you can hack into the system, right?” 

“Is that even a question?” 

“Right, good, so it’s set.” Nathan nodded. “Now, what _I_ wanna know, is who’s gonna go in? Because I volunteer.”

Ben snorted.

“Slow your roll, Hale.” He leaned forwards. “You and I going in is probably our worst option; if we get caught, we’re done for.”

Nathan sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Right. _Right._ ” He frowned. “So, who’s gonna do it? Woodhull’s out, because- _oh god_ \- that is not happening.”

“I’ll do it.” Caleb shrugged. “Anna’s gonna be doing her weird ass tech shit, so it’s not like she’ll be able to.”

Ben beamed at him, clapping him on the shoulder, in a proud manner.

“So it’s settled.” Anna decided. They all toasted to that, the easy feeling in the room mixed with a fresh sense of elation.

Ben leaned in closer to him, his mouth spread into a huge smile, his blue eyes the brightest thing in the room. He shone. 

Caleb just couldn’t look away.

+

“When exactly is this going down?” Abe questioned the following morning, gulping down some orange juice.

“Around eight.” Caleb answered, looking around their barren cupboards. “What happened to all the food? I’m starving.”

“We’re all out.” Abe declared. “Gotta restock.”

Caleb groaned.

“Let’s just eat out, for breakfast.” He offered, and Abe nodded, heartily. 

“Agreed.” 

“Anna doesn’t take too kindly to customers at this hour.” Caleb said, grabbing his keys. “But there’s an inn nearby here, isn’t there? Trenton, or Tonshend or-”

“Townsend.” Abe finished. “It’s the Townsend inn.” 

“There we go, that’s the one.” 

The two made their way out of the apartment, the cool air a regime change from the normally blistering temperatures.

“So we’re going there.” Abe said, as they drove out to the inn. “Good choice. It’s a nice place. Sturdy.”

“‘Sturdy?’” Caleb echoed, snickering. “Why would you describe an inn as _sturdy_?” 

“Because it is.” Abe defended. “The establishment, it’s sturdy, it’s-”

“Jesus Christ, Woody, just shut up.” Caleb laughed, trying his damndest to keep his eyes on the road. “Why’re you obsessing over this?”

“I thought we agreed to drop it.” Abe pointed out, leaning back.

“No, we agreed to drop the conversation about..” Caleb stopped, using the opportunity that the red stoplight gave him to shoot Abe a pointed look. “Oh my god, did you get into a fight with somebody at the Townsend inn?”

“It wasn’t a _fight_ , per se.” Abe insisted, indignantly. “I was trying to help! If he’d stop being so goddamn irritable, I might have been able to!”

Caleb grinned crookedly.

“Who’s ‘he?’” 

Abe glared sharply at him, arms folded. 

“Pay attention to the road.” He muttered, in a weak attempt to change the subject. “The light’s green.” 

Caleb, giving Abe one last amused glance, turned back to the task at hand, stepping down on the gas pedal and turning over the new information in his mind.

He slowed down, catching sight of a young girl sprinting to the middle of the road, to grab an elusive ball, that had bounced away from her and her group of friends. Caleb knew that she had no way of seeing and differentiating 

between the different signals that flashed high above her.

He wondered for a fleet moment what it would have been like to grow up without color. He couldn’t even begin to imagine it. All those kids, all those teenagers, adults, and senior citizens who were so unaware of the beauty that lay within the world, just because fate decided that they couldn’t meet their soulmate yet.

The girl, noticing the car, ran back to the sidewalk, waving at them. It was sad to think that it would probably be long before she understood that red meant stop, and green meant go.

Green. 

_“Light’s green.”_

Caleb swerved the car, stopping abruptly, causing both of the passengers to be jerked forwards.

“What the fuck, Caleb?!” Abe demanded, rubbing a spot in his head where he’d been hit.

“Who is it?” Caleb asked, turning rapidly to face Abe.

“What?” 

“Who’s your soulmate?” He clarified, and the other man blanched.

“I-I don’t- where is this even coming from?”

“‘ _The light’s green.’_ Except, how would you know what green is? How would you know, unless you’d met them?” 

Abe chewed on the inside of his cheek, mulling over his answer. Caleb didn’t rush him. He’d know if the other man was lying, _he’d feel it._

“Fine.” Abe said. “I did meet them. But, so help me Caleb Brewster, it is absolutely none of your business.”

Caleb had to admit that Abe had a point there.

“You know, I will never understand you. How can you not be freaking ecstatic, right now? How long ago was it?”

“Of course I’m ecstatic. The problem is that they aren’t.” Abe snapped, hand unconsciously reaching to touch the healing bruise on his eye. “And not too long, I’m still getting used to it. How bright it all is.” He turned to look at Caleb, pale eyes soaking it all in. “The world is kind of beautiful.”

Caleb, putting the car back on drive, hummed in agreement.

“Don’t take it for granted, Woody.” He advised, and Abe nodded, leaning to look out the window. 

“Are we still going to the Townsend inn?” Abe asked, and Caleb nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

+

_TEXT FROM: tallboy_

**hey did you get the stuff?**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**nah im out eating**

**did you know that food magically disappears from my apartment?**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**that’s quite the predicament**

**maybe you should, i dunno?**

**go shopping.**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**k but is that necessary?**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**nah, who needs vitals, anyways?**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**listen smartass**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**look all im saying is that you’ve gotta learn how to take care of yourself**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**unnecessary**

**ive got you for that**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**okay fine good point**

**you’ve always got me**

Caleb smiled down at his screen, feeling warm. He knew he shouldn’t read too much into it, but it still made that dim hope rekindle. Just a little.

He heard a disgruntled noise in front of him, and promptly shut off the phone, looking up.

“Back again, I see?” 

The question was directed at Abe, and the asker was a man with chestnut colored hair and gray, calculating eyes. Caleb hadn’t ever seen him before. Which was unnatural, because it’s not as though Setauket was a particularly large town.

“I’m nothing if not persistent.” Abe assured him, and the stranger rolled his eyes, turning to Caleb.

“What’ll you have?” He asked, and it took Caleb a moment to remember that they were in the dining room of an inn, and that their server was asking them for food.

“Um, just some pancakes, thanks.” He answered. “Abe?”

“I know what _he’ll_ have.” The man replied, wearily, almost as if he wished he didn’t. “Eggs and milk. It’s the same thing every day.”

“I like consistency.” Abe justified, which Caleb knew was a damn lie. “I mean, I don’t know, Rob, but it kind of sounds like you’re getting a bit bored there with your usual routine.”

Their server scoffed, jotting down their orders in a tiny notebook, and turning around.

“Not likely.” He called out over his shoulder, before leaving the two customers to their own devices. Caleb gave him a hard look.

“He seems friendly.” The man noted. “Who even is he?”

“Robert Townsend,” Abe answered. “And he _is_ friendly. Sometimes. Just not with me.”

“Why?”

“He doesn’t like me, much.” Abe replied, although he didn’t seem bother by the statement at all.

“You sound proud.” Caleb said, amusedly. Abe grinned, triumphantly.

“Because I’m going to make him like me.” He decided, and Caleb cringed.

“Abe, you can’t just… _make_ somebody like you.” He said, slowly and surely, hoping that the message chose to sink into his roommate.

“Sure you can,” Abe dismissed him, leaning back. “It wasn’t my idea, anyways.”

“Then who’s was it?” Caleb asked, watching from the corner of his eye as Robert argued with an older man, in the corner of the room. 

“Fate.”

“Fate?”

“Fate.” Abe repeated, resolutely, and Caleb, for one, was absolutely astounded by the sheer confidence that this man had. Where did he even get it from? He fucked up at least once a day, sometimes twice.

“What does that even mean?” 

“ _Fate_.” 

“Y’know, just because you keep saying it, doesn’t mean it makes any more sense.” Caleb reminded him, witheringly. Abe gave him an annoyed look.

“You’re dense, Brewster.” He chastised. “I’m not sure how I can make it any clearer.”

“You’d make a shitty teacher, Abe.” Caleb told him. “You’re terrible at getting your point across.”

“Unless I’m lying.” He mused. 

“Probably why you’re a decent lawyer.”

Caleb’s phone buzzed, and he looked away from where Abe was glaring playfully at him.

_TEXT FROM: tallboy_

**okay so funny story**

**nathan’s car broke down**

Caleb snorted, recalling the old clunker that Nathan insisted on driving everywhere; “ _it has character,_ ” he told them every time. 

_TEXT FROM: tallboy_

**if you’re waiting for a punchline, there is none.**

**in fact, i have absolutely no idea why i led this with ‘funny story’**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**it was a matter of time**

**That car ran on willpower and stubbornness**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**a pretty good metaphor for nathan himself**

**the real problem, though? we have no car for the mission**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**oh, so we’re calling this a mission, now?**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**shove it, you know what i mean**

**im serious, though, we need a car.**

**and i don't have one. and neither does abe. and since nathan’s broke down…?**

**we could borrow yours?**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**you mean the same car that i pick you up in, regularly?**

**the same car that’s been seen by several people on campus?**

**im not trying to toot my own horn, but it’s a nice car, and if it’s one of the few in the parking lot- someone’s bound to remember.**

**especially if they know someone broke in and they look at the security cameras**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**well fuck**

**you’ve really thought about this, then?**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**it’s important to you**

**of course i thought about it**

It took a few minutes for Ben to respond, and Caleb wondered what thoughts would be running through his mind. Did his heart start racing? Did he get elated every time Caleb’s name popped on his phone screen?

Probably not, but there was nothing wrong with a little harmless wishing.

_TEXT FROM: tallboy_

**you’re the greatest**

**and as for the security cameras, anna can just shut them off, but you’re right. the car could be recognized.**

**we need another one then**

**but selah’s out of town, and mary isn’t going to want anything to do with this.**

**any ideas?**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**i’ll go ask abe rn**

Caleb looked up, lips already forming the question, only to find that Abe wasn’t even in front of him, anymore. His eyes swept the room, looking for any signs of the elusive man.

God, he really hoped he didn’t have to pay for anything that Abe had broken.

But, no, there he was, chatting up Robert Townsend, at the counter. It seemed to be a very one-sided conversation, and Caleb felt a twinge of remorse for them- but which one, he wasn’t sure.

“Woody,” Caleb clapped a hand on Abe’s shoulder, the man in question stopping mid-sentence and turning to his friend. “Hale’s car broke down.”

“Called it.” Abe replied. “Does this mean no outing?”

“Hell no,” Caleb shook his head. “We’re doing this. We just need a means of transportation. You know anybody who can help us out?”

Abe paused, deep in thought. A small grin grew on his face, and he faced Robert, again.

“How would you like to do something illegal and distasteful?”

Rob raised his eyebrow.

“You’ve come here for two consecutive weeks. Do you honestly have to ask?” He said, dryly. “No.”

“Right, okay, so before you flat-out deny it-”

“I’ve already flat out denied it.”

“-hear me out!” Abe continued, ignoring the interruptions. “You know Professor Washington, right?”

“Everybody knows Professor Washington.” Rob said, wiping a rag over the counter. “Your point?”

“Yeah, well, he might get fired.” Abe said, bluntly, and Rob stopped moving the rag, attention captured. “And we’ve taken it upon ourselves to find out if it’s true or not. Through any means necessary.”

Robert stopped, meeting Abe’s eyes.

“You’re telling me,” he began, slowly, as though he were truly trying to understand. “That you would sneak into a school, hack into said school, and basically commit a crime, just to figure out whether or not a _rumor_ is true?” 

Caleb and Abe shared a glance, faltering slightly. The silence stretched on, Robert giving them both equally patient and disbelieving looks.

“..Yes.” Caleb said, finally, reminding himself that all of it was for Ben. “That’s essentially it.”

“And you’re asking me to join you?” Rob added, laughing sharply. “Good luck with your ‘mission,’ gentlemen.” 

“Rob, wait!” Abe lunged forward, grabbing his sleeve, desperately. Robert glowered at him, and Caleb forcefully pried Abe off the man, and pulled him back into his seat. “Just help us out, please?”

“Oh, well, when you put it like that.” Rob said, sarcastically. 

“You don’t even have to come! We can have the car back, in two hours, tops. Ten o’clock, and that puppy will be right back under your nose.” Abe offered. Rob sighed, running a hand through his hair, wearily.

“I don’t even _have_ a car, Woodhull.” He explained, and both he and Caleb adopted downcast expressions.

“No, but I do!” 

The man that Caleb had seen Robert arguing with earlier appeared, wispy white hair expressing age that was challenged by the joyful glint in his eyes.

“Mr. Townsend,” Abe greeted, and the man in question beamed. Caleb was caught so off-guard by how welcoming the man was; despite their shared last name, he had his doubts as to whether or not the man and Robert were actually related.

“Dad, I thought you were taking the day off.”

“Robert, please,” Mr. Townsend rolled his eyes. “Every day’s a day off. You do all the work anyways. In fact, _you_ should take a day off.”

“I’m good.” Rob replied. 

“Are you? Are you _really_?”

“That’s what the words ‘I’m good’ imply.”

Mr. Townsend turned to the other two men, ignoring his son and smiling widely.

“Samuel Townsend,” he greeted, extending a hand in Caleb’s direction. 

“Caleb Brewster.” He answered, and found himself grinning along. The man’s mirth was infectious. “You mentioned something about a car?”

“Yeah, it’s out back, and you can definitely borrow it- as long as Robert’s the one driving, he knows it best.”

“Translation: you can’t borrow it.” Rob quipped.

“Don’t be such a square.” Samuel advised, and Robert gave him an offended look. “Don’t you trust Mr. Woodhull?”

“Not as far as I could throw him.” Robert answered, without hesitation. Abe gave him a wounded look.

“You owe me.” He argued, and Rob turned to him, incredulously.

“Pardon?”

“You _owe_ me.” Abe insisted, folding his arms. “You punched me in the face!”

“That was an accident! You were in the way!” He justified. “And, trust me, the aftermath was _way worse_.”

“The aftermath was the best part.” Abe argued, and Caleb chuckled, amused, and a tiny bit confused.

“Just help us out, dude.” He pleaded, and Robert fixed his gaze on him.

“Come on, Robert.” Samuel insisted.

Rob groaned, raising his hands up in the air.

“Oh, god, just shut up, the lot of you.” He demanded. “Fine, I’ll do it. But don’t expect me to like it!”

Abe pumped a fist in the air, triumphantly. Caleb whipped out his phone, shooting off a quick text to Ben.

_TEXT TO: tallboy_

**get ready to fall in love with me**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**im perpetually ready**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**we got a car**

**well abe and his weird ass obsession with some guy got us a car**

**__**TEXT FROM: tallboy

**sounds like a hell of a story**

**nathan’s ecstatic**

**he says he could kiss you**

**__**TEXT TO: tallboy

**you should be the one to deliver that message js**

+

Caleb drummed his fingers on one of the tables in the Strong tavern, watching as the people trickled out. Anna had put up a sign that said they were closing early- since Selah wasn’t home, she couldn’t very well leave the bar open, without anybody there.

Ben slid into the seat in front of him, bouncing his foot, anxiously.

“Where are the others?” He asked.

“Anna’s out back, Robert- our wheels- is with the car in the parking lot, and Abe’s probably annoying him.” Caleb answered. “Nathan?”

“Over there,” Ben nodded over to the counter, where Nathan was pouring himself an ale. 

“Drinking.” Caleb noted.

“Liquid courage.” Ben commented, thoughtfully. Caleb quirked his eyebrow.

“Damn. Deep.” He replied, and the man in front of him rolled his eyes, smiling hopefully at him.

“I should hope so; I am in Yale, after all.” Ben said, waggling his eyebrows. “Same as all those pretentious students that come out straightening their ties, and shoving their glasses up their noses.”

Caleb shook his head.

“Nah, they’re _preppy_.” He stated, resolutely, and Ben snickered. “They’re annoying.”

“Hey, these are my classmates you’re speaking about.” He gave Caleb an exaggeratedly offended look, placing his hand on the middle of his chest. 

“Preppy,” was all that Caleb answered, shaking his head. “They’re preppy.”

Ben threw his head back, a laugh eliciting from those lips of his; there was something about the way Benjamin Tallmadge looked when he was happy, that drew Caleb in. 

He had no time to dwell on that thought, however, seeing as how Anna had dragged Abe back in, and the two had joined them at the table. Nathan, following their lead, sat down as well.

“We good to go?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. Anna nodded, grabbing his glass and taking a swig.

“All customers gone, all involved parties present.” She assured him.

“Fantastic.” Nathan praised, downing the last contents of his drink, and slamming it down on the table. “Let’s go.”

+

Samuel Townsend’s van was absolutely perfect for the coming task. It was large enough to fit all of them, and with it’s nice dark color, it blended in excellently.

Caleb glanced out the window, watching as the scenery hurried by. It suddenly struck him that what they were doing, what _he_ was supposed to do, was dangerous as hell. He wasn’t a child anymore, and that sense of invincibility he carried with him was bound to fade away, sooner or later.

He turned to look at Ben, who in turn gave him a comforting expression, and squeezed his hand, gently. 

Caleb looked down, and laced their fingers together, half expecting Ben to let go. He didn’t, however, opting instead to lean in closer to Caleb, wordlessly.

God, what he’d give to know what the man was thinking.

“You’re gonna pull it off.” Ben said, confidently. “I believe in you.”

Any doubts that Caleb Brewster had, vanished with those words, replaced by pure thrill- of the mission? Or of being this close to Ben? Because, surely, they both knew what they were doing. 

“We should have a cool operation name.” Abe proposed, and Anna hummed in agreement.

“Like Operation Yale.” She offered, and Abe snapped his fingers.

“A tad simplistic, but a good start, nonetheless.” He concurred.

“And what do you suggest, Oh Wise One?” Anna mocked, and he shrugged.

“Operation Yale is so obvious, though.” Abe whined, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “We need something inconspicuous, like Operation Washington, or some shit like that.”

“Oh, right, because Operation Washington is perfectly inconspicuous.” Anna scoffed.

“How about Operation Nightfall,” Robert suggested, his face impassive as he drove. Abe grinned, nodding.

“There we go, that’s the one.” He agreed, excitedly. “Subtle. To the point.”

“Stop gushing.” Rob demanded, although Caleb could have sworn he saw a small smile play on his lips. “We’re almost there.”

Nathan, from his spot on the other side of Ben, perked up.

“Good!” He exclaimed, sitting up so directly that the seatbelt pressed against him, tightly. “Strong, start setting up the tech stuff.” He commanded, before adding a “please.”

Anna didn’t seem too keen on being told what to do, but Nathan’s addition seemed to placate her, for she pulled out a sleek laptop from her bag. 

“We’re in range,” she told them, and the van settled into a comfortable silence, the only sound being the clicking from the keyboard. 

“Nice.” Nathan praised, undoing his seatbelt as the car came to a stop. They were shrouded behind a large wall, invisible to those at Yale.

At least, they were for now.

Anna and Nathan made their way out, the former dragging a bunch of cables with her. Ben slowly made himself upright, looked at Caleb, before standing up. Abe, jittery, followed the others.

“I’m gonna wait here a while,” Caleb explained, as Ben and Abe exited the van, as well. “Psyche myself up.”

“I’ll stay here too,” Robert said, “because I don’t particularly care about this.”

Caleb cracked a grin at that, standing and sitting next to Townsend.

“You seem like somebody who could use a mission like this.” He told him, and Rob twisted his head to look at him.

“You say ‘mission,’ like this isn’t child’s play.” 

“It’s not child’s play,” Caleb insisted. “It’s Operation Nightfall.” 

Robert snorted, shaking his head, and folding his arms. 

“It was a joke.” He supplied as an explanation, but Caleb was having none of that. He pointed his finger at Robert, teasingly.

“Here’s my two cents- you _want_ to be here.” Caleb stated, and Rob quirked an eyebrow.

“And how do you fathom that?” 

“Call it intuition.” Caleb shrugged. “I can tell when somebody’s hiding what they want.”

“You have much experience in that area?” Robert questioned, interestedly. 

“Too much.”

Rob nodded, taking the information in. Caleb wondered just how much more they’d all be seeing of him. He seemed like somebody easy to talk to, at least when Abe wasn’t around.

“So, tell me,” Caleb leaned forward. “What _is_ your deal with him? What’d he do?” 

Robert didn’t even bother to ask who, and Caleb found the distinction admirable; going straight to the point wasn’t a choice most people took.

“Nothing.” Rob said. “But also everything.”

“Oh, so are the both of you gonna be speaking in riddles, now?”

“A man was harassing the brunette- Anna.” Rob began, sighing. “Simcoe, I think his name was.”

“Sounds about right.”

“Anna seemed to be handling the situation well, but Woodhull didn’t understand that. So, he stepped between them, telling Simcoe to back off.” Rob continued, and Caleb let out a low whistle. “But Simcoe didn’t, and Abe- Jesus Christ- swung at the man, right in the middle of everything. I intervened, and I meant to hit Simcoe, I really did.”

Caleb snickered, and Robert shot him a hard look.

“It’s hard to hit the target when there’s a ball of rage in the middle of it all.” He justified, and hesitated before adding. “And so I hit Woodhull. Accidentally.”

“So you don’t like him because he reminds you of how shit your aim is?” Caleb deduced, teasingly, and Robert shook his head. “Then what?”

The man paused, introspectively.

“Did you know,” Townsend said, finally, “that by the last census count, there are 7.125 billion people in the world? And more born every day. More turning eighteen every day. More chances of meeting that person that has been deemed your soulmate every day. One touch from them, no matter _how_ said touch is delivered, and you just know. Your plunged out of darkness, and, for the first time you can legitimately _see_.”

Caleb frowned.

“I don’t see how this relates to anything.” He said, apologetically. Rob rubbed his temples, jaw squared.

“My point is that if there are so many people out there, so many that could be the one- with my luck? Of course it had to be _him_.”

Caleb, dawning in realization, formed a small ‘o’ with his lips, at a loss for words. He finally understood it, Abe’s weird behavior coupled with Townsend’s indignation; it all made sense.

“Oh.” He said, surprised. Rob gave him a wry smile, listening to the people outside calling to him in harsh whispers.

“Better head off: Operation Nightfall needs you.” He tipped his head in Caleb’s general direction. Caleb smiled, before standing up and making his way over to the conglomeration that had formed outside the car.

“Here,” Anna said, passing him one of the earbuds, and placing another in his shirt pocket. “You can hear us, we can hear you. More importantly, we can hear André. The extra’s just in case.”

Caleb placed the device in his ear, nodding. It bothered him, just the tiniest bit, but he ignored it.

“Alright, so I was talking to the lady at the gate,” Ben spoke in a hushed tone, pulling Caleb away from the crowd and pointing at the middle-aged woman standing in front of the school. “And told her that you were here to pick something up. A book, or whatever. She won’t care.”

Caleb’s eyes flitted from the woman to Ben, elation coursing through his veins.

“Got it, Benny-boy,” he winked, and watched as Ben placed one of those extended microphones in his ear. 

“You’ll be great,” he assured him, and everybody in the room hissed at him, for speaking too loudly. With the speakers in place, the conversation was no longer private.

“C’mon,” Caleb said, guiding Ben over to where the computers were set up, in the back of the van. Anna was grinning triumphantly, and under further inspection, Caleb could see that she had managed to get a visual on the campus.

“I don’t even know how to open a browser correctly,” Ben mused, mystified, and Caleb laughed, clapping him on the back.

“Right, so: just tell the lady to let me in, head in the direction of the library, which is also where the Head office is, and where I’ll find André, right?” 

“Right,” Anna assured him. “Go.”

Ben grabbed Caleb and pulled him into a hug, and the latter found himself pleasantly surprised.

“Don’t worry, nerd,” Caleb said, but neither made any move to pull away. “It’s not White House Down.”

Anna coughed, and Ben let go, giving Caleb a small smile. 

“Don’t get caught.” Abe advised, leaning against the car, and peering over at the group. 

“I never do.”

And with that, he blew them all sarcastic kisses, and jogged over to the wall, doing his best to not look suspicious. Caleb placed his hands in his pockets, and gave the lady at the gate a friendly smile.

“Hey, I was looking for something in the library,” He told her, and she gave him an unamused look. “My friend told you I’d be here?”

“I’m not supposed to let anyone in, after eight.” She said, looking down at him from her cataracts. Caleb checked his watch, and showed it to her.

“7:58.” He stated, and the woman sighed, shaking her head, and opening the door.

“Fine, but don’t take too long.” She warned, and Caleb assured her he wouldn't.

“ _Nice,”_ Anna breathed, and Caleb jumped, slightly, before remembering that, because of the chip in his ear, they could all hear each other.

“Why thank you very much, Annie,” He answered. “I’ve got charm galore.”

“ _If you take too long,”_ Ben piped up. “ _She might go looking for you. So don’t take too long.”_

“In and out, Tallboy.” Caleb whispered, pushing the door to the school open, and wincing as the lights hit him at full force. 

“ _In and out.”_ Ben repeated.

Caleb walked through the empty hallways, feeling uneasy. Something about the way the lights shined overhead, made it seem as though there should be somebody there.

Which there was, and that’s the whole reason Caleb was here.

“ _André and another man are in the office, turn right when you reach the first fork.”_ Nathan instructed, and Caleb looked forward, doing as he was told.

“Who’s with him?”

“ _Hewlett.”_ Ben answered. Caleb had no idea what the hell a Hewlett was, but he stored the info in his brain.

Caleb approached a closed door, where he could hear a myriad of different voices from behind it. He, however, was not close enough to understand what they were saying.

“What do I-”

“ _Caleb, get out of there.”_ The three of them yelled, and he winced, hand flying up to his ear.

“Guys, have a little considera-”

“ _Somebody’s coming!”_ Anna told him, and Caleb’s eyebrows shot up, hearing footsteps rounding the corridor; he ducked into a supply closet, heart beating rapidly.

“Who is it?” He asked, quietly. 

“ _Is that..?”_ Anna trailed off.

“ _Yeah,”_ Nathan assured her. “ _That’s Washington.”_

“What the hell’s he doing here?!” Caleb whisper-yelled, trying to sneak a peek through the crack in the door.

“ _No idea.”_ Ben stated, and Caleb could practically picture him, eyebrow furrowed, leaning towards the laptop, moonlight hitting him perfectly and-

_This is not the time,_ he told himself.

“ _He just went in.”_ Anna informed him, and Caleb opened the door just the tiniest bit, relieved to find the corridors empty.

“ _Caleb, get out of there.”_ Ben demanded, which spiked a protest from Anna. “ _This was stupid, it’s too dangerous.”_

“No way.” Caleb shook his head, cringing as the door creaked. Nobody in the office seemed to notice, and he continued, stepping back into the same spot he’d been in. “I’m already here.”

“ _We can’t even hear anything.”_ Ben challenged, and Caleb reached into his shirt’s pocket, whipping out the extra earbud that Anna had given him. He turned it on, got down on his knees, and promptly slid it under the door. 

They all waited in silence, until different voices began to become accessible to them, through the earbud in the room.

_“Caleb Brewster, you fucking genius.”_ Anna praised, and he could hear Ben laughing, excitedly.

“Shh,” he ordered, standing back up and straining his ears. 

“ _How nice of you to join us here, George.”_

“ _That’s Hewlett.”_ Ben told them. 

“ _Pleasure’s all mine, Edmund.”_ Another voice greeted, and even Caleb recognized that one as Washington, from the countless award ceremonies he’d been to, for Nathan and Ben.

If Washington was there, if they were engaging in such polite conversation, then surely this wasn’t going to be the professor’s demise.

“So, he’s not being fired?”

“ _Hush.”_

Caleb scowled, but closed his mouth, nonetheless.

“ _I do hope you’ve chosen a student for the program._ ” A new voice, smoother than Hewlett’s, said.

“ _That’s John André._ ” Nathan breathed. “ _Shit, he’s hot.”_

“ _Yeah.”_ Anna agreed, tilting her head. Caleb rolled his eyes.

“ _I have. It’s been hard coming to a decision- choosing the right person is, after all, not always the easiest task.”_ Washington replied.

“Program?” Caleb asked.

“ _The exchange one, I think.”_ Ben speculated. “ _It’s this prestigious thing where one student goes to France, or England, or something of the sort. They study abroad. It’s an incredible opportunity.”_

Caleb licked his lip, leaning against the cool wall. He could just head back to the van, they didn’t really need him, anymore. He stayed put, despite it all. It made him feel important.

“ _And who have you decided should be the one?”_ Hewlett demanded. A pregnant pause filled the air, as they all waited for Washington’s answer.

“ _Tallmadge. Ben Tallmadge.”_

Caleb sucked in a deep breath, and he heard a clamor form with the other three. He hardly heard them, though, focusing instead on what this meant.

Ben. Off somewhere. That wasn’t Setauket. That wasn’t with him. Indefinitely.

“ _Ah,”_ André said, “ _I’ll assume that’s a good choice?”_

_“The boy is very bright. He’ll do great.”_ Washington justified, but it all became background noise to Caleb, who ripped off the earbud and ran down the empty hallways, heading out of the school.

The cold air slapped him in the face, but Caleb couldn’t bring himself to care, because Ben- _his Ben-_ might not be around him.

He stopped, in the middle of the campus.

Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe the program didn’t last that long. Maybe it wasn’t even the exchange program.

He recollected himself, breathing heavily, and walked back to the gate. The lady gave him a grumpy look, making a remark about how he took his sweet time, but Caleb ignored her.

“We thought something had happened to you, you idiot!” Anna smacked his head. It didn’t matter, his entire body felt numb, anyways. He looked up to see Ben, who watched him carefully.

“How long would the program be?” Caleb asked, pushing past the others. 

“It’s two years.” Ben answered, quietly, and a chill ran down Caleb’s spine.

Two years.

Two whole fucking years.

“We might be wrong.” Nathan reminded them all. Abe, who hadn’t been listening in, gave them all mildly confused looks.

“What’re you gonna do?” 

Ben bit his lip, shutting his eyes.

“I don’t know.” 

Caleb didn’t want him to go, and he had half a mind to say so- except, he couldn’t. He couldn’t rob Ben of such an experience. And, goddamn it, Ben _deserved_ it. He worked his ass off, constantly.

Deflated, Caleb slumped down.

“They stepped on it,” Nathan complained. “They stepped on the earbud. We lost access.” 

“Does it matter?” Anna took out her own device, and Nathan copied her. “We’re done here. We know everything we need to.”

“And more.” 

Caleb looked down at his earbud, which he still held in his hands. What a fat lot of good this damn thing had done. He stood up, heading over to a bench that was off to the side, and sat down, watching as the rest of their so-called team packed up all the supplies. Anna and Nathan went back into the van, talking to Rob about something or other. Ben remained at the computer, rubbing his face.

Abe sat next to Caleb, chin in his hands.

“What exactly happened?” He asked. “I couldn’t hear.”

“Washington’s not being fired. But he chose Ben for some weird exchange thing, and now he’s leaving.”

“For two years.” Abe nodded, having heard that part. “ _If_ he says yes.”

“He’s probably gonna say yes.”

“Do you want him to say yes?” 

Caleb paused.

“No.” He answered, finally. “And I know it’s selfish and awful. Because Ben deserves to be happy. He deserves to go have fun and do some studying abroad, in some cool new place other than this hellhole.”

“Going off to the City of Love could change him, yknow. He might meet somebody.” Abe reminded him, and Caleb shot the shorter man an annoyed look, because that was not helping.

“I know. And he’d be happy.” He sighed. “But, serious Caleb moment: _I want to be happy, too_. And I just can’t picture that happening without him.”

Caleb leaned back, playing with the earbud in his hand, melancholically. His eyes drifted upwards, over to the car, where he saw Ben’s eyes piercing his own.

Wait. 

Ben never had taken off his own earbud, had he?

“Oh my god.” He said, jumping to his feet. “ _Oh my god_. _”_

No. No, no, no, _no, no, nononononono._

He dropped the gadget he’d been clutching, turned in the direction that faced away from the school and ran. Away from the bench, away from the van, away from Ben, away from _everything_.

God, Caleb would never be able to face him again. 

He stopped, panting, and turned towards the sea. He leaned against the bridge. The moon casted an ethereal glow onto the water, and Caleb looked over it, breathing in deeply.

He closed his eyes, hearing footsteps crunching behind him. He pushed down the unmistakable urge to run, again.

“Hey.” Ben said, simply, walking over to him.

“Hey.” 

Ben turned to look at him, but Caleb kept his eyes glued on the water. If he didn’t turn to his friend, then rejection wouldn’t hurt as badly.

“You’re kind of blind sometimes, did you know?” Ben stated. 

Well, he wasn’t wrong. 

“You heard me, right?” Caleb asked. “You heard what I said to Abe?”

“I did.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ben gave him a puzzled look, and Caleb turned to look at him. 

“Why?” The taller boy demanded.

“ _Why?_ Because I just basically said I was in love with you, _that’s_ why.” Caleb snapped. “And I am. God, Ben, I am so in love with you it’s honestly fucking pathetic. And you deserve better than that, so I’m sorry.”

“Bullshit,” Ben shook his head. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”

“But-”

“No buts. Why would this _possibly_ be wrong, Caleb? We’re soulmates.”

“Platonic soul-”

“You know what, don’t even finish that sentence.” Ben interrupted, twisting his full body to face the other man. “If there is such a thing as ‘platonic soulmates,’ which I’m sure there are, then we are not it.”

“And the exchange program?” Caleb asked, because he didn’t know where Ben was going with this, but all he could find in any possible road that they took, were faults.

The program. The baggage. The insecurities.

The fact that Benjamin Tallmadge deserved the world, however, was Caleb’s main problem. 

“Fuck the exchange program.” Ben said, taking a step closer to Caleb. “I don’t _want_ to go anywhere. This is my home. I’m declining.”

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Caleb reminded him.

“You know, I’m starting to think you want me to leave.” Ben teased.

“I just don’t want you to miss out on something incredible.”

“I don’t want that, either.” Ben said, a smile playing on his features. “Which is why I’m staying here. With you.” 

Caleb faltered, unsure whether or not he’d heard correctly.

“Because I can’t picture happiness without you, either.” Ben finished, and his eyes- _those eyes_ \- were more alive than he had ever seen them.

And Caleb did what anybody would do, in his position; he grabbed Ben’s lapels and tugged him forwards, their lips crashing together. And after more than a decade of pining, and hiding, and denial- Jesus fucking Christ, this was the most satisfied that the either of them had ever been.

He’s pretty sure that there’s a lesson to be learned with them ( _“don’t keep secrets, kids!”),_ but he and Ben could try to work out what exactly that was later. For now, all that was there in the world was the moon, and the stars, and them. Everything else faded away, until they were the only people left in the world. 

Pulling apart, Ben let out a laugh, his entire face glowing with euphoria.

“You have no idea how long I have been waiting to do that.” He breathed, leaning his forehead against Caleb’s.

“I think I have a pretty good idea.” Caleb answered, and Ben chuckled, looking down at Caleb through his eyelashes.

_I love him._

“Hey,” Ben pressed another kiss the the corner of Caleb’s mouth. “Might have taken us a while, but here we are.”

“You know, we’ve got one hell of a story.” Caleb noted, hands snaking up to curl around Ben’s neck. “And you know the thing about about happy endings?” 

“That they’re worth the wait?” Ben asked, lips a fraction of an inch away from the other man’s. Caleb closed the distance, before pulling back.

“Yeah,” he answered. “You’re worth the wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you read this far, i am so sorry


End file.
